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Good Morning to all Freepers who will come by this thread and read. I am posting today to honor a man, publicly, on this forum that he loves.

This man is my step-father, and he has been a good Dad to me for most of my life. Stanly Spychala, I love you.

He came to this country as a child, from Britain, with his family. They processed through Ellis Island and came to NYC with enough money to buy hotdogs for the family and little else. They did not look for, or ask for, handouts. They found work and began building a life here, eventually settling in Elizabeth NJ.

The family integrated into American life, becoming Naturalized Citizens. Stan grew up and joined the US Navy as a Bosuns (Boatswains) Mate. He served onboard the USS Ozbourn (DD-846) and the USS Long Beach (CGN-9) before shifting over to the Coast Guard.

He met and married my Mom, taking on and loving her 3 boys as his own. We all had the ‘adventure’ of the military life, moving every 2-3 years. Hard? Sure. But, also beneficial, learning to adapt to the new.

When I decided to join the Navy myself, I knew who to turn to for guidance. He introduced me to FreeRepublic way back in the early Clinton days. He never joined, only lurked.

One part of Freeperdom that I love is the prayer requests and support we give. Please offer prayers for him and my Mom. He is fighting against COPD and has been for several years; and my Mom has been caring for him around the clock, showing an example of Gods true love that is all too lacking in the world today. So, please pray for comfort for him, Stan, is his health troubles; and pray for strength and rest for my Mom, Ann.

Stan, I am doing a poor job of saying all I want to.

Let me start with, I am PROUD to have you as a Dad, PROUD to be able to say I am your son. And I love you.

As your child, thanks for all you did for me. Thanks for the discipline when needed. I am the man I am today because of it.

As a man, thanks for being my friend, for offering advice, for listening. I miss all our ‘stinkin thinkin’ sessions.

As a fellow sailor, I proudly salute you and your service there Chief Boats. Bravo Zulu and fair winds to you.

As a fellow Christian, it has been good, So Good, to pray with you and to know you acknowledge Christ for who He is. So, after this life, we’ll get to greet each other again.

Stan, the miles make it more difficult to visit as much as I would like. And I ask your forgiveness for not calling more. Life happens and days blur. But no matter what, you are near and dear to my heart. Please know that there is so much more in my heart to say and not near enough bandwidth here to put it all down.

I love ya. Robert